Brazil, a land of exploration and discovery, has been the setting for an extraordinary story: that of Catherine of Brazil, a woman born into the indigenous population who went on to become a central figure in the country’s colonial history.
Born in Paraguaçu, the daughter of a Tupinamba chief, she married Diogo Álvares Correia, a Portuguese explorer who had been shipwrecked on the Brazilian coast. After her baptism, she became Catherine of Brazil and played a crucial role in the encounter between European and Indigenous cultures.
The text you are about to read recounts the incredible life story of Catherine of Brazil.
Where is the Monastery of Salvador, where Catherine of Brazil—named in honor of Catherine des Granches, wife of Jacques Cartier and her godmother—is buried?
Diogo Álvares Correia (1475–1557) was a Portuguese explorer who spent his entire life among the indigenous peoples of Brazil and facilitated their interactions with the first administrators and missionaries. He washed ashore in São Salvador Bay (Brazil) in 1510 after his ship was wrecked. He was warmly received by the Tupinambás, whose chief gave him his daughter, named Paraguaçu, who became his wife: Catherine Paraguaçu.
She was baptized in Saint-Malo and given the name Catherine of Brazil, in honor of Catherine des Granches, wife of Jacques Cartier, who served as her godmother. At the same time, another Tupinambá woman, Perrine, was baptized, confirming the legend that several indigenous people, out of jealousy, threw themselves into the sea to accompany Diogo Álvares Correia on his journey to France.
For sixty years, he maintained contact with the European ships that called at Bahia. His trade relations with Normandy and Brittany led him to visit France between 1526 and 1528.
Catherine Paraguaçu and Caramuru (the nickname given to Diogo Álvares Correia) had several children—Ana, Genebra, Apolônia, Graça, Gabriel, Gaspar, and Jorge Álvares—who married Portuguese men who had come with Martim Afonso de Sousa. The most prominent families of the Bahian aristocracy are descended from them, including the Garcia d’Ávila family of the Casa da Torre.
Diogo Álvares Correia was buried in a monastery in Salvador, where his wife was later buried as well. People from Bahia often say that there is a church in Salvador for every day of the year. Portuguese ships have been docking in Salvador de Bahia since the 16th century. In 1549, an image of the Patron Saint of Lisbon accompanied these explorers on their great voyages.
But the echo of the wild waves of All Saints Bay—Brazil’s largest bay opening onto the Atlantic Ocean, home to the Bahian capital, Salvador— Bahia And Itaparica Island offers other intangible treasures, starting with its musical heritage.
Listening to the Gregorian chants of the Benedictine monks at the Salvador Monastery is a unique experience. You can also enjoy the cookies and jams they make themselves. The area around the monastery offers a peaceful walk through a European-style pine forest.
The monastery in Salvador was founded when the Benedictine Congregation of Brazil celebrated its 150th anniversary. The congregation chose to name this monastery in Salvador, whose patronal feast is celebrated on August 6, the day of the «Transfiguration of the Lord.».
Salvador, also known as Salvador de Bahia, is a city in Brazil, the capital of the state of Bahia, and Brazil’s first capital.
It was here that Catherine Paraguaçu died at an advanced age in 1583 and drew up a will—which is preserved today at the São Bento da Bahia monastery—in which she bequeathed her property to the Benedictine monks.
Kevin LOGNONÉ
